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T. N. & J. N. GROW AUTOMATIC DANGER.

Patented Dec. 1 186 3.

' NITED STATES.

THOMAS N. CROW AND JAMES N. GROW, OF'MOTI HAVEN. NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC DANCER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,7 1 0, dated December 1, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, THoMAs N. GROW and JAMES N. GROW, both of Mott Haven, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Dancer; and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, forming a. part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents, a perspective view of our invention. Fig; 2 is a side elevation of the upper part of the body of the dancer.

Similar letters of reference in both views indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in combining with a spring-board or other device, to which a vibratory motion can be imparted, a human or other figure with jointed limbs in such a manner that by imparting to said spring-board a vibrating motion and holding the feet of said figure in close proximity to the surface of the board the figure begins to dance in the mos ludicrous and comical manner.

The invention consists, also, in the employ-v ment or use, in combination with the springboard and jointed figure, of an elastic rod inserted in the back of the figure in such a manner that the motions of the dancing figure on the vibrating board are perfectly free and unobstructed. v

To enable those skilled in theart to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe it.

A represents athin board or strip of sheet steel or other elastic material, which will as sume a vibrating motion if one end is firmly held down on atable and slight taps are applied to the loose end with the finger or in any other desirable manner. The dancer B (represented by'the figure of a negro or any'other. human figure) is suspended over the springboard Aand the limbs of said dancer, and particularly the legs, are connected to the body by means of pivots a 22, leaving the same free to swing up and down at pleasure. If a vibrating motion is imparted to the board and I the legs of the dancer come in contact with its surface, the vibratingmotion of the board is'transmitted to the legs, and the figure begins-to dance in the most comical manner.

In order to facilitate the motions of the dancerwe suspend the same from an elastic red, O, which maybe provided with a suitable handle, and which is inserted in the back of the figure B.

The dancer can be made to perform in the.

most simple manner by placin gone end of the springboard on a chair and holding it tight by sitting down on it. One hand takes hold of the elastic rod 0 and holds the dancer in the proper position above the board,while the other hand by slight taps produces a vibrat ing motion of the board.

Instead of the board A, however, any other surfacemay be used to which a vibrating motion can be imparted"such, for instance, as a drum-head-and the vibrating motion might be produced by some mechanical con trivance, such as a clock movement. The sprin gboard, the dancer, and the elastic rod, however,,co nstitute-the principal elements of our invention, and they are sufficient to make the dancer perform as above described.

The efi'ect of the toy may be varied by making the head of the figure movable, and providing heads of different shape, so that the head of the negro can he removed and that of a clown put in its place, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The employment or use of the spring-board A, or its equivalent, in combination with the figure B, having jointed limbs andotherwise constructed and operating in the manner and for the purpose substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the elastic rod 0 with the figure B and spring-board A, substantially -as and for the purpose described.

T H0s; N. GROW. JAS. N. CROW.

Witnesses M. M. Lrvnvesron, D. ROBERTSON. 

